The Grand Central ropes another show at Cowboy Up

It feels like it was only yesterday The Grand Central shared its unbridled love for country music at the Cowboy Up Saloon – because it essentially was.

Andre Lamarandre.lamar@doverpost.com@302DoAndre

It feels like it was only yesterday The Grand Central shared its unbridled love for country music at the Cowboy Up Saloon – because it essentially was.

After making its Cowboy Up debut in April, the New York-bred Grand Central will give an encore on Saturday, playing a night of country covers as well as the band's only original recorded song.

"We are excited to get back to the Cowboy Up," said drummer Ryan Mustachi, who co-founded the band with frontman Eric Annibale in 2009. "Everyone from Felicia Baker, the owner, and all of the employees were extremely hospitable. We are looking forward to another busy night."

Annibale added, "The crowd, they were happy to be there and excited," he said. "It's a great place with a great vibe. It really starts from the top with [Baker]."

Grand Central has you covered

The Grand Central will likely tackle tunes by the Eli Young Band, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash and the Randy Rogers Band as well as a bunch of others.

"We do a mix of some Nashville country, the contemporary stuff, classic stuff and Texas country," Annibale said. And for those who aren't country fans, the frontman says, "we like to throw in some classic rocks riffs and see if they pick up on AC/DC or Metallica."

Then there's the band's only original recorded tune, "Leavin' Caroline Behind," a song, available on iTunes, about being in a relationship but "it's not quite working out" so "you want to take the risk and see what else is out there," Annibale said.

Living a dream

In 2012, Annibale and Mustachi took a leap of faith and decided to take their show on the road full-time. And they haven't looked back since.

"Playing music full-time was the main goal from the beginning of this band," Mustachi said. "We held down regular jobs in the beginning, just trying to make ends meet and then eventually our schedule got busier and we had to make a decision. It is a dream come true for us to be doing what we love as our job."

In May they played at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth, Texas, an acclaimed venue for country music. In addition to having the pleasure of playing the esteemed venue, country star Randy Rodgers, who was also in the house, joined the band as they were performing one of his songs.

"We stated playing his song and he stopped and he started singing with us," Annibale said. "It was really cool."

Proud to be making music for a living, but not completely satisfied, Mustachi says he and Annibale have additional plans for The Grand Central.

"Three long-term goals for The Grand Central would be recording an album, radio play and maintaining our touring schedule," Mustachi said. "As long as we stay focused and keep working hard, we are hoping these goals will be achievable throughout the next year."